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Requirements  /  Georgia

Georgia Teacher PD Requirements (2026)

100 hours every 5 years for teachers

Source

Primary regulatory source: GaPSC Rule 505-2-.36 "Renewal Requirements" (effective July 1, 2025). PLU-to-hour conversion confirmed via GaPSC Professional Learning Guidelines: "10 hours of seat time = 1 PLU" — so 10 PLUs = 100 contact hours. CEU conversion per rule: 10 contact hours = 1 CEU. The LUA-employed path is qualitative (PL-community participation documented by the supervisor) rather than a strict hour count; the 100-hour cycle figure represents the non-employed alternative path and is the closest single number for comparison. Service-field educators (Speech/Lang Path, Audiology, Psych, Counseling, Social Work) may satisfy via GaPSC-accepted state/national credentials.

Teachers

Annual hours
—
Cycle hours
100
Cycle years
5

Renewable Professional Certificate is on a 5-year cycle. Georgia has two parallel paths: (a) For teachers employed by a Georgia LUA, the rule is "engage in professional learning on a continuing basis by fully participating in the LUA's professional learning community" — the LUA documents fulfillment, no strict statewide hour count. (b) For teachers not employed by a Georgia LUA at renewal time, complete 10 Professional Learning Units (PLUs) = 100 contact hours, OR 6 semester hours of college coursework, OR 10 CEUs (= 100 hours), OR 100 BFTS-approved training hours, OR valid NBPTS certification. The 100-hour figure shown here is the alternative-path equivalent; LUA-employed teachers may meet the requirement with less or more depending on their PL community participation.

Counselors

Annual hours
—
Cycle hours
100
Cycle years
5

School counselors are explicitly named as a "service field" in GaPSC Rule 505-2-.36. Two paths: same LUA-employed PL-community path as teachers, OR satisfy optional requirements associated with a GaPSC-accepted state/national credential (e.g. NCC) in lieu of hour-based PD. When not employed by an LUA, the 10-PLU / 100-hour alternative applies, identical to the teacher requirement.

Administrators

Annual hours
—
Cycle hours
100
Cycle years
5

Administrators (principals, superintendents) hold the same Professional Certificate (with Educational Leadership endorsement/field) and renew under the same 5-year cycle and Rule 505-2-.36 paths as teachers. No separate administrator hour count identified in the rule.

Other South states

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Information current as of May 25, 2026. Verify with your state Department of Education for official licensure decisions.